Good News At Last! Padmaavat Will be Released ALL Over India

Thursday, 18 January 2018

The Supreme Court stands up for the filmmakers

All these months while the Padmaavat imbroglio was on and various groups were issuing threats and indulging in violence, the makers of the film stayed silent. They bent over backwards trying to please the media, the Karni Sena which was leading the protests, the miffed royals of Rajasthan and all other sundry groups. But even after getting a certificate from the Censors, when news trickled in that some states in India – Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat had banned the film, the makers have found some spine and approached the Supreme Court through an urgent petition, challenging the ban. The Supreme Court of India has agreed to hear their plea on an urgent basis.

Well, now their stand is vindicated. The Supreme Court has stayed the ban on the release of the film, allowing for an all-India release on January 25.The Court also restrained any other states from issuing such a ban maintaining that they have to take care of the law and order situation and prevent untoward incidents during the screening. The SC also upheld the makers’ contention that the film formed a part of the filmmaker’s freedom of speech and expression.

The ban on the film by four states – Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat – drew the ire of one and all especially since it had been cleared by the Censor Board. During the certification process of the film, Bhansali appeared before a parliamentary panel where he said that the film is an adaptation of Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's work, Padmaavat.